Hi kids!
We took a little trip this week. The Seibold’s were going to the island of Madeira to do a Self-Reliance class and we only had a couple of things scheduled for that week, sooo….. we emailed Pres. Barcellos and asked if we could go with them for a few days. He said ”Sure, on condition that you try the Pao de Cacao. It’s the best!” So, we had P-day, I taught English, and then we flew to Madeira!
We didn’t want to miss Sunday, so we came back on Saturday, but in hindsight, we kinda wished we’d stayed with the Seibold’s through Monday because it was a fifth Sunday and we didn’t have any lessons to teach. And that weekend, the island celebrated a big religious festival with awesome decorations, performers, and bonfires on the mountain and in the water. But we made the most of the 3 ½ days that we had!
When we landed, we were surprised to see people outside overlooking the runway. We found out later that that’s the smoking area. 
The Seibold’s picked us up and after we checked into the hotel. We took a short hike up the mountain by the hotel. We noticed the wood piles on the edge and wondered what they were for. We decided some kind of fence. The Seibold’s told us later that on Saturday night, they lit all the wood piles and it made a line of fire up the side of the mountain. It’s so interesting to us - in Vila Real, the people are praying for rain to put out all the fires on the mountains, but on Madeira, the people are lighting fires on the mountains to celebrate. 
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The beaches are rocky, so they have these boards set out for people to sit and lay on.
After our hike, we had our first meal on the island. It didn’t disappoint. This is Pao da Caco. President B. wasn’t exaggerating – it was delicious! It looks like regular garlic bread, but the bread is more like an English muffin. They put homemade butter, fresh minced garlic & herbs on the bread, and bake it. SO good! (We ordered it every time we went to dinner. Ha!)
I ordered parrot fish to try. I felt kind of bad eating our storybook “Rainbow Fish”… But it was yummy.
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The view that night from our hotel…
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The Branch President on the island is a tour guide, so the next day, we hired him to take us around the island. This was a fun street all decorated with recycled things. The “chandeliers” have lights in and are made out of tin cans.
These decorations were made from recycled egg cartons and paper plates
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Next to the street is this small harbor with lots of colorful fishing boats.
We saw these guys gathered around and asked the Pres. what they were doing. He said the fisherman play cards after they come in from fishing.
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After seeing a bit of the town, we drove up into the mountains. We stopped at several viewpoints. Each one was so different!
This one had sharp green peaks and it was warm.
But just around the corner, 5 minutes away, we were in misty clouds and it was chilly!
It reminded me of a spooky movie set.
This one had a giant swing set!! So randomly fun…
My swing got away from me….
They had these cute shoe planters on the fence surrounding the lookout…
We went to some lava pools. They created walkways and places to sit among the lava rocks and people soak in the ocean pools. I thought of you, Aub….;) Great on a hot day, but not a cold one - the water’s a bit nippy.
This was a first - a diving board in the ocean!
I’ve always wanted to walk on a sky bridge. This was a mini one, but still fun.
I tried to get me and dad, but it was in portrait mode….
And dad didn’t want to bend down. 
We couldn’t figure out what these were….. A fish farm.
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